Holder for flexible conductors for dentist{3 s tools

ABSTRACT

A device is disclosed comprising a swinging arm presenting at its fix and movable end two pulleys onto which winds, with greater or smaller amplitude, a flexible conductor connecting the considered tool to the energy source and thus varying the distance of said tool from the energy source.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Emilio Maverna Monticello Brianza,Como, Italy [2i 1 Appl. No. 847,993 [22] Filed Aug. 6, 1969 [45]Patented @ug, 17,1911 [32] Priority Aug. 28, 1968 33] Italy [54] HOLDERFOR FLEXIBLE CONDUCTORS FOR DENTIST'S TOOLS 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 242/47.5, 242/ l 55 [51] lnt.Cl B65h 51/20 [50] Field ofSearch 242/47.5, 55.01, 107, 107.1, 155

[56] I I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,776,093 l/1957 Cox etal 242/47.5 3,372,883 3/1968 Ota 242/47.5 3,429,516 2/1969 Sharp et al242/47.5

Primary Examiner-Leonard D. Christian Altorney0strolenk, Faber, Gerb &Soffen ABSTRACT: A device is disclosed comprising a swinging armpresenting at its fix and movable end two pulleys onto which winds, withgreater or smaller amplitude, a flexible conductor connecting theconsidered tool to the energy source and thus varying the distance ofsaid tool from the energy source.

SOURCE PATENIED AUG] 7 IHYI sum 10F 2 HOLDER FOR FLEXIBLE CONDUCTORS FORDENTISTS TOOLS Obviously the denomination flexible feeding conductors,"

as cited in the following specification, refers to electric, as well asto pneumatic lines or, otherwise, to fluidpressurized lines in general,to connect the power source to an electric motor or to a pressurizedfluid motor.

With'particular, although not exclusive reference to odontotechnique, inwhich field the invention can be ad-- vantageously applied-it is assumedthat the user, i.e. the dentist, disposes already of the various toolsat reach of hand and so arranged that each of said'tools can be grippedby the user without the need to displace his arm beyond certain limits.Furthermore, a special requirement of the user is the possibility toretain said tool with one hand only, in such a way that he can handlesaid tool as required, first of all so as to enable the user to feel theoperating area with the necessary sensitivity and, at the same time,preventing said sensitivity from possible alterations due to variablefactors, such as, for instance, the weight of the feeding conductor, thelength of which, between the tool and the power source, can be variableaccording to the different operations the user has to accomplish eachtime.

The problem of maintaining a constant sensitivity of the tool during theuse thereof has already been faced, but not yet solved as concerns therequirements of dental technology in general and, in particular, theachievement of a simple, reliable, efficient and satisfactoryperformance of the tool, whichever its position may be.

The device of the present invention is designed to solve the abovementioned, as well as other problems, both practically and rationally,as it enables retention of the tools in such a position that the userthereof can grip said tools effortlessly and without the need orpreoccupation to return said tools to their initial position, afterhaving made use thereof.

The device of the invention comprises one support provided with means toretain and to anchor the flexible conductors, as

well as with means to retain, through hinged parts, one of the ends ofat least one arm, provided at the other end thereof, with a pulley ontowhich one of the flexible conductors winds, whereas power accumulatingmeans exert their action on said arm to maintain said arm to betemporarily maintained in a preselected position, as well as tosubstantially balance such length of the flexible conductor between theanchorage of the latter and the user.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the device, the swinging armis under the influence of spring means and supports-at the pivot pin ofthe pulley onto which the conduc tor winds a counterweight counterarm,the latter cooperating, through a guiding roller, with the flexibleconductor in order to guide the winding and unwinding motion of saidconductor onto and from the pulley carried by said arm, thus preventingslipping off of the conductor from the pulley.

According to the invention the support for the swinging arm or theswinging arms is bracketlike in shape and has, near its front end, aplate provided at its free end and in alignment with the windingpulleys, with shaped openings, in such a way that the sidewalls of saidopenings converge toward the botpermit the displacement of said supportin at least two directions, at right angles to each other. Thedisplacement of the supporting bracket in these two directions isachieved by means of articulated parallelograms connecting said bracketto said column.

The invention will be now described in the following specification,wherein reference is made to, the annexed drawings,

showing, by way of example, an advantageous embodiment of v the device.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the device FIG. 2 shows the swingingsupporting arm, with some parts thereof in section FIG. 3 is a plan viewof the device.

With reference to said figures, the device is retained by a pedestal(not shown) integral with a tubular column 10 which can be possibly madeof one or several teles'copicmembers, to adjust the height thereof.

The terminal element 10a of column 10 firmly retains one head 12provided with an opening 14 forming a forl between which arms two rods20 and 22 are retained through pivot pins l6, 18, said rods forming theopposed sides of an articulated parallelogram. Arms 20, 22 of saidparallelogram connect, by means of associated pivot pins 24 and 26, tosmall wings 28, shown below a supporting bracket 30, advantageouslyextending with respect to the above mentioned two arm 20 and 22.

At least one stirrup 32 is fixed to the supporting bracket 30, each ofsaid stirrups retaining, by means of one pivot pin 34, one cylindricalhousing 31, the periphery of which is provided with one groove 38 toreceive the flexible conductor C which, as previously mentionedcan beformed with insulated electric conductors, or otherwise, with tubes toconvey a pressurized fluid for coupling in theknown manner, a motor M toeach control tool K (not shown). Motor M" is-so embodied as toforrnahandle which can be easily gripped andoperated by the user.

Housing 36 contains a helical spring 40 one end of which is fixed, bymeans of one pin 42, to said box, whereas the other end of said springis fixed to a bushing 44 rotatably threaded to the above mentioned pivotpin 34. Bushing 44 is-integral with arm 46 showing an advantageouslength, saidv arm retaining with its other end, a pivot pin 48. Agrooved pulley or sheave 50 isrotatably arranged on said pivot pin 48.

On the pivot pin 48, at its end projecting from the other side of arm46, an oscillating arm 52 is rotatably mounted in such a way as to show,in an advantageous position, a balancing weight portion 53, whereas theother end of said arm pivotally a small grooved roller 56 constituting aguide pulley for cable C, The swinging motion of arm 52 is confined by astop pin 55, arranged on arm 46. The action of spring 40 is in clockwisedirection (FIG. 2), in order to maintain arm 46 in a preselectedposition determined by a stop which, in the illustrated case, consistsof an angle arm 58 fixed to supporting stirrup 32.

Cable C, which connects motor M to the powersource is introduced,together with other conductors, into column 10' and, through saidcolumn, into cable sheath 60 of elastic material, where said conductoris anchored to previously mentioned angle arm 58. Cable sheath 60 isembodied in such a way as to stably retain cable C, so that the lengthof said cable, between said cable sheath 60 and motor M, has apreestablished extension, in order to meet the users requirements. It isto be understood that cable sheath 60 can be used in such a way as topermit the adjustment of the protruding cable length and, once saidlength has been established, to maintain said cable anchored.

When motor M, together with the associatedtool, is not used, said motoris retained in a preselected position by a positioning member consistingof slab 62 fixed to the front side of supporting bracket 30, said slabhaving shaped notches 64 tohouse the grip of motorM in such a way, thatthe bottom of each of said notches is in alignment with the middlesymmetric plane of grooved pulleys 38 and 50. i

Now, examining the structure of the above described device, theoperational characteristics of said device can be readily understood.The same is to be said for performance of the various component parts,each time the utilizer grips the handle and exerts an action on saidhandle connected to motor M.

In fact, when motor M is moved away from its associated gripping notch64, arm 46 together with pulley 50, are moved in the direction shown byarrow Y, against the action of helical spring 40. The handle, togetherwith motor M, in their position of maximum extension (see FIG. I) extendalong a horizontal line, said line being, below and imaginary linetangent to pulley 38 which imaginary line lies above pulley 50.

In such conditions the weight of the cable is compensated orsubstantially balanced between the anchorage consisting of cable sheath60 and motor M by spring 40 and arm 46.

It is to be understood that, when the extension of said length decreasesinasmuch tool k is moved toward the device, spring 40 causes arm 46 tomove in order to wind the cable onto pulleys 38 and 50. Thus, when alimited action is exerted by spring 40 on arm 46, then a smaller lengthof cable C will project from pulley 50. During the swinging motion ofarm 46 under the action of spring 40, said cable C is continuouslyguided by guiding pulley 56, said pulley being maintained in the windingarea of pulley 50, thanks to counterweight portion 53 of arm 52, thuspreventing conductor 6 from slipping off or otherwise becomingdisengaged from pulley 50. When the operator releases handle M, or ifsaid handle is in the position of its minimum extension, arm 46, underthe action of spring 40, is returned against stopping wall of angle arm58, thus causing cable C to wind up onto pulley 50, as well as handle Mto engage in the associated notch 64 of plate 62. As a consequence, theuser is allowed to work in a rational and easy way, without the dangerthat conductors C of the various tools can become loose and, as aconsequence, entangled; on the 1 other hand, it is possible to changethe resting position of the tools by lifting and lowering supportingbracket 30 which, through the deformable parallelogram 20, 22, isallowed to assume a preselected position, both in length and height,with respect to the top of column 10.

lt is possible to perform modifications and changes in the abovedescribed and illustrated device in accordance with the desired end usesof same: for instance, in order to obtain the different lengths of cableC, it is possible to change the diameter of winding pulley 50 and/or thelength of arm 46. For this purpose said arm can be formed with twoparts, in such a way that said parts can be adjusted and locked to eachother by means of detachable connecting members. Furthermore, means canbe provided to adjust the action of spring 40 upon arm 46; for instancea connection of said arm with bushing 44 can be achieved by means of ascrew engageable with one ofa plurality of openings provided by one ofthe ends of said bushing. Furthermore, as regards the specific use madeof the device according to the present invention in the field ofodontotechnique, said device can be so embodied as to advantageouslycomplement or to be formed integrally with a chair, such as is currentlyused for this purpose.

However, the details of the embodiment, as well as the specific end useof the device of the present invention may undergo modifications andchanges without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A device for the compensated retaining of a flexible conductor (C)adapted to couple a power source to a small size portable toolcomprising:

support means (30) provided with a retaining member (60) mounted uponsaid support means and surrounding said flexible conductor for retainingand anchoring the flexible conductor;

an arm (46);

means (34) pivotally joining one end of said arm (46) to said support(30);

spring means (40) mounted between said support (30) and said pivot means(34) for biasing said arm in a first direction;

a pulley being pivotally mounted to the free end of said arm (46);

said flexible conductor (C) being entrained around the periphery of saidpulley (50) and having a tool (M) mounted at its free end;

said spring means (40) being adapted to exert a counter force upon saidarm (46) which balances a force exerted upon said arm (46) which resultsfrom the length of flexible cable (C) extending between the retainingmember (60) and the free end of said flexible conductor (C) when theflexible conductor is drawn from said pulley (50) when said tool isbeing used.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a housing (36) integral with said support (30); said pivot means (34)extending into said housing;

said housing containing a stationary annular-shaped ring whose outerperiphery is grooved (38) to guide said flexible conductor;

said spring means (40) comprising a spiral spring having its inner endcoupled to said pivot means (34) and having its outer end coupled tosaid housing.

3. The device ofclaim 1 further comprising:

a swingable arm (52) having a first end pivotally mounted to said arm(46) said swingable arm having a portion (53) thereof adjacent itspivotal mounting for counterbalancing its pivoting movement;

the free end of said swingable arm (52) being provided with a pivotallymounted flute roller (56) whose periphery engages the flexibleconductors entrained about said pulley (50) to ensure proper windingmotion of the flexible conductor on said pulley.

4. The device of claim 1, characterized by providing at least onestirrup (32) fixed to and extending above said support (30); saidstirrup retaining pivot means (34); stop means (58) for said arm (46)being secured to said stirrup for limiting the pivotal movement of saidarm (46) in said first direction.

5. The device of claim 1, characterized in that said stop means (58) isa small iron angle fixed to supporting stirrup (32), to provide a stopfor swinging arm (46); said retaining means (60) being mounted upon saidiron angle.

6. The device according of claim 1, characterized in that the supportingbracket (30) has at its longitudinal front end, one plate (62), the freeedge of which is provided with a plurality of shaped openings (64),-thebottom of said openings being provided with means to retain either thehousing or the handle ofthe motor (M) to drive the tool.

7. The device of claim 1, comprising a supporting column and beingcharacterized in that the supporting bracket (30) is connected to saidsupporting column (10) by means of a pair of adjustable members (20 and22), said members each being pivotally connected at their first andsecond ends to said support means and said column to provide foradjustment of said support means in height and/or in length with respectto said column.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said adjustable members (20, 22)comprise an articulated parallelogram composed of said adjustablemembers (20, 22) which are supported at one end by column (10) and theother end by support means (30).

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said retaining means is comprised of ashort flexible sleeve (60) fixed at a first end thereof to said support(30) and having its free end extending toward the power source wherebysaid sleeve is adapted to enable said flexible conductor to slide freelythrough said sleeve in moving toward the power source while exerting arestraining force upon said flexible conductor when pulled in thereverse direction.

1. A device for the compensated retaining of a flexible conductor (C)adapted to couple a power source to a small size portable toolcomprising: support means (30) provided with a retaining member (60)mounted upon said support means and surrounding said flexible conductorfor retaining and anchoring the flexible conductor; an arm (46); means(34) pivotally joining one end of said arm (46) to said support (30);spring means (40) mounted between said support (30) and said pivot means(34) for biasing said arm in a first direction; a pulley (50) beingpivotally mounted to the free end of said arm (46); said flexibleconductor (C) being entrained around the periphery of said pulley (50)and having a tool (M) mounted at its free end; said spring means (40)being adapted to exert a counter force upon said arm (46) which balancesa force exerted upon said arm (46) which results from the length offlexible cable (C) extending between the retaining member (60) and thefree end of said flexible conductor (C) when the flexible conductor isdrawn from said pulley (50) when said tool is being used.
 2. The deviceof claim 1 further comprising: a housing (36) integral with said support(30); said pivot means (34) extending into said housing; said housingcontaining a stationary annular-shaped ring whose outer periphery isgrooved (38) to guide said flexible conductor; said spring means (40)comprising a spiral spring having its inner end coupled to said pivotmeans (34) and having its outer end coupled to said housing.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1 further comprising: a swingable arm (52) having afirst end pivotally mounted to said arm (46) said swingable arm having aportion (53) thereof adjacent its pivotal mounting for counterbalancingits pivoting movement; the free end of said swingable arm (52) beingprovided with a pivotally mounted flute roller (56) whose peripheryengages the flexible conductors entrained about said pulley (50) toensure proper winding motion of the flexible conductor on said pulley.4. The device of claim 1, characterized by providing at least onestirrup (32) fixed to and extending above said support (30); saidstirrup retaining pivot means (34); stop means (58) for said arm (46)being secured to said stirrup for limiting the pivotal movement of saidarm (46) in said first direction.
 5. The device of claim 1,characterized in that said stop means (58) is a small iron angle fixedto supporting stirrup (32), to provide a stop for swinging arm (46);said retaining means (60) being mounted upon said iron angle.
 6. Thedevice according of claim 1, characterized in that the supportingbracket (30) has at its longitudinal front end, one plate (62), the freeedge of which is provided with a plurality of shaped openings (64), thebottom of said openings being provided with means to retain either thehousing or the handle of the motor (M) to drive the tool.
 7. The deviceof claim 1, comprising a supporting column and being characterized inthat the supporting bracket (30) is connected to said supporting column(10) by means of a pair of adjustable members (20 and 22), said memberseach being pivotally connected at their first and second ends to saidsupport means and said column to provide for adjustment of said supportmeans in height and/or in length with respect to said column.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein said adjustable members (20, 22) comprise anarticulated parallelogram composed of said aDjustable members (20, 22)which are supported at one end by column (10) and the other end bysupport means (30).
 9. The device of claim 1 wherein said retainingmeans is comprised of a short flexible sleeve (60) fixed at a first endthereof to said support (30) and having its free end extending towardthe power source whereby said sleeve is adapted to enable said flexibleconductor to slide freely through said sleeve in moving toward the powersource while exerting a restraining force upon said flexible conductorwhen pulled in the reverse direction.